a short note recognizing a source of information or of a quoted passage

"the student's essay failed to list several important citations"; "the acknowledgments are usually printed at the front of a book"; "the article includes mention of similar clinical cases"

reference point, point of reference, reference(noun)

an indicator that orients you generally

"it is used as a reference for comparing the heating and the electrical energy involved"

reference book, reference, reference work, book of facts(noun)

a book to which you can refer for authoritative facts

"he contributed articles to the basic reference work on that topic"

character, reference, character reference(noun)

a formal recommendation by a former employer to a potential future employer describing the person's qualifications and dependability

"requests for character references are all too often answered evasively"

reference, denotation, extension(noun)

the most direct or specific meaning of a word or expression; the class of objects that an expression refers to

"the extension of `satellite of Mars' is the set containing only Demos and Phobos"

reference, consultation(noun)

the act of referring or consulting

"reference to an encyclopedia produced the answer"

reference, source(noun)

a publication (or a passage from a publication) that is referred to

"he carried an armful of references back to his desk"; "he spent hours looking for the source of that quotation"

address, computer address, reference(noun)

(computer science) the code that identifies where a piece of information is stored

reference(verb)

the relation between a word or phrase and the object or idea it refers to

"he argued that reference is a consequence of conditioned reflexes"

reference, cite(verb)

refer to

"he referenced his colleagues' work"

WiktionaryRate this definition:(5.00 / 1 vote)

reference(Noun)

A relationship or relation (to something).

reference(Noun)

A measurement one can compare to.

reference(Noun)

Information about a person, provided by someone (a referee) with whom they are well acquainted

reference(Noun)

A reference work.

reference(Noun)

A relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object.

reference(Noun)

A short written identification of a previously published work which is used as a source for a text.

reference(Noun)

A previously published written work thus indicated; a source.

reference(Noun)

An object containing information which refers to data stored elsewhere, as opposed to containing the data itself.

reference(Verb)

to refer to, to make reference to, to cite

Reference the dictionary for word meanings.

reference(Verb)

to mention

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:(0.00 / 0 votes)

Reference(noun)

the act of referring, or the state of being referred; as, reference to a chart for guidance

Reference(noun)

that which refers to something; a specific direction of the attention; as, a reference in a text-book

Reference(noun)

relation; regard; respect

Reference(noun)

one who, or that which, is referred to

Reference(noun)

one of whom inquires can be made as to the integrity, capacity, and the like, of another

Reference(noun)

a work, or a passage in a work, to which one is referred

Reference(noun)

the act of submitting a matter in dispute to the judgment of one or more persons for decision

Reference(noun)

the process of sending any matter, for inquiry in a cause, to a master or other officer, in order that he may ascertain facts and report to the court

Reference(noun)

appeal

Origin: [See Refer.]

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Reference

Reference is a relation between objects in which one object designates, or acts as a means by which to connect to or link to, another object. The first object in this relation is said to refer to the second object. The second object – the one to which the first object refers – is called the referent of the first object.
The term reference is used in many spheres of human knowledge, adopting shades of meaning particular to the contexts in which it is used.
References can take on many forms, including: a thought, a sensory perception that is audible, visual, olfactory, or tactile, emotional state, relationship with other, spacetime coordinate, symbolic or alpha-numeric, a physical object or an energy projection; but, other concrete and abstract contexts exist as methods of defining references within the scope of the various fields that require an origin, point of departure, or an original form. This includes methods that intentionally hide the reference from some observers, as in cryptography.
The following sections give specific usages of reference in different subjects.